[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11149]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING ARKANSAS FLOOD VICTIMS

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, it is with heartfelt sympathy that I 
stand before you today to offer my deepest condolences to the family 
members and friends who lost their loved ones in the flash floods that 
swept through the Albert Pike Recreation Area in the Ouachita National 
Forest Campgrounds in the early morning hours of June 11, 2010. 
Approximately 8 inches of rain fell in 1 hour overnight, providing very 
little warning to campers of the danger. The warnings went unheard 
early Friday morning; the campground has no sirens, no park ranger on 
site, poor radio reception, and spotty cell phone service.
  The Caddo and Little Missouri rivers rose by 20 feet overnight, 
engulfing the hikers and campers who were spending the night in tents 
along the rivers in the isolated Ouachita Mountains. The 54-unit 
campground was quickly inundated with water, which was rising as 
quickly as 8 feet per hour. The water was so violent it overturned RVs 
and peeled asphalt off the roads.
  Twenty people, in some instances several members from the same family 
including young children, lost their lives in this tragedy. Among those 
lost were eight Louisianans, and my heart goes out to the Smith family, 
who lost Anthony, Joey, and Katelynn; to the Basinger family, who lost 
Shane and Kinsley in Gloster; and the Roeder family in Luling who, lost 
Kay, Debbie, and Bruce.
  The 20 people lost to this tragedy will be greatly missed by their 
families, friends, and communities. I ask that you remember the victims 
of the flash floods in your thoughts and prayers.

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